The holiday season is a busy time of year, and sometimes selecting and stringing lights on your Christmas tree is done hurriedly with little aforethought. Occasionally, this practice results in dissatisfaction with the tree and its decorations that you have to live with throughout the holiday season. Sometimes, electrocution or fires result when safety procedures are not followed. It's also important to remember that selecting the right tree is critical to the process of safely putting up the Christmas lights.

Shop for Trees Early

Ensure that you get a fresh tree by shopping in mid-November before the after-Thanksgiving shoppers come out in droves. In addition to picking a tree that is the right height and shape, look for one is fragrant with a deep green color. Make sure the needles are firmly attached; pick the tree straight up about 1 foot off the ground and drop it stump first on a hard surface. The needles should not fall off in quantity. Finally, gently bend the branches to ensure they are pliable, indicating the tree is fresh. Generally, a Christmas tree farm in your area provides the freshest trees and the greatest selection.

Prepare the Tree

Use a small saw or pruning shears to cut the branches off approximately 1 foot up from the bottom of the stump. Next, guarantee that the tree will draw water from the tree stand reservoir by sawing off a 1 inch portion of the bottom of the stump where the sap has pooled and hardened to form a watertight seal. Wash the tree stand with soapy water and rinse it with a solution of 1 part bleach to 5 parts water; this will kill bacteria that may cause the tree to rot. Finally, position the tree straight up in the tree stand with its best side on display and brace it with the screws in the tree stand. Fill the water reservoir and keep it full every day.

Prepare the Lights

Christmas tree light safety is an important consideration to avoid electrocution or electrical fires. The basic rules are simple: Use a quality surge protector, don’t plug more than three strands of Christmas lights together and don’t use an extension cord if at all possible. And never use one extension cord that is plugged into another. Start several days before stringing the lights by stretching out the various strands — side by side — on a flat surface. Plug in the strands and replace the bulbs in the ones that do not light up. When an entire strand doesn’t light up, test the bulbs with a bulb tester to find the ones that are causing the problem and replace them. It’s better to leave the strands stretched out for a day so the kinks in the strands have time to relax.

String the Lights

Begin at the base of the tree and arrange the cord so that the male plug is dangling down near the surge protector — use a zip-tie to secure it to the tree trunk. Avoid the possibility of electrocution by not plugging the lights in while you are stringing them. Lay the light strands on the interior of the branches first and then move to the outside edges of the branches. Plug in additional strands — up to a maximum of three strands — as you move up to the top of the tree.

About the Author

Freelance writing since 2009, Tom Ross has over 30 years of corporate management and hands-on experience in the supermarket industry. Ross was featured on the cover of "Instore Buyer" magazine and his articles have appeared on various websites.

Photo Credits

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Ross, Tom. "The Best Way to Put on Christmas Tree Lights." Home Guides | SF Gate, http://homeguides.sfgate.com/way-put-christmas-tree-lights-35051.html. Accessed 21 March 2019.

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